Exclusive Vote Will Dame playing help or hurt Scoot development?

I voted help, but there's multiple factors that support either option and I could nearly vote either way. That's why I thought it was an interesting poll.

For voting "Help Scoot" I'm considering these aspects:
+ Dame will buy in and give it his all here, have no reason to expect otherwise.
+ Dame is a great leader and has a great work ethic. His teammates both current and past have always spoke very highly of him.
+ Dame is also a highly productive player which could elevate the play of the team and help get wins which I think is beneficial to Scoots development.
+ Dame can shoot off the ball and help spread the court so the defense doesn't focus on Scoot.
+ There are a dozen years of Scoots prime ahead of him where he can grow into a larger option.

Factors that I consider to vote "Hurt Scoot" are:
- Minutes crunch. With Dame, Scoot, Sharpe, and Ant there just isn't enough minutes for all of them in the backcourt. Eventually I believe Sharpe can play some SF, but for a very young 20 year old I don't think you want them going up to a bigger position. Durant now plays PF - but as a rookie he played SG. Young players need time to build strength and get used to the physicality before they can play a bigger position or be part of undersized lineups. There is just no way to divide up 96 minute with these 4 players where everyone is happy.
- Negative culture from a current leader requesting a trade. So far Scoot has handled all the questions on this situation fabulously, but its not a good dynamic to have a leader of the team partially committed. Even if Lillard comes to camp and gives 100% its going to at the least be an awkward dynamic if not worse. I suspect all these players will be able to overcome this negative factor - even so its less than an ideal dynamic.
- Lack of leadership opportunity - with Dame here Scoot will need to defer to the franchise veteran in Dame and that will take away from Scoots innate leadership opportunities.
- Dame personal struggles and off the court issues - this was "officially" noted in Billups comments in summer league that Dame has been going though major off the court issues. There are deaths in his family as well as rumors of a broken marriage. This won't for certain be a negative, but being in a poor mental or emotional place could harm Dame's ability to help Scoot as well as be a good role model.
- Lack of offensive scheme - The coaching staff and Scoot will not be able to implement offensive schemes and sets that cater to his strengths and focus on Scoot while Dame is such a large piece of the offense
- Poor defense culture/ poor habits - Dame has never been a leader on the defensive end, nor prioritized his development there above his offense. This could be a bad defensive culture around Scoot at a time he needs to begin building a career focus on that end.
- Draft pick - If Dame helps the team win now it could hurt the Blazers 2024 draft pick. I still believe the positives of wins will likely outweigh the negatives - but even so there still is a real negative component to Dame leading the team to wins. If it was Scoot/Sharpe/Ant leading the team to wins I'd see that as a much larger benefit as they could be a part of this franchise the next decade as opposed to Dame only being here for weeks or months.

 

It would help Scoot to play with Dame.

 

Dame's washed.

 

That would be my worry as well. Playing Dame into the ground to squeeze out a few wins.

 

So, Dame would be worn down when he's traded to the Heat?

I'm not seeing the problem here.

 

Scoot is a passing point guard who hasn't proven he can shoot 3-pointers yet, but could be nearly un-guardable by a single defender near the hoop.

Any player that can make the defense pay, especially by hitting perimeter shots, when more than one defender is attached to Scoot near the bucket helps Scoot and his development.

 

Preferably delete him (+ assets) for a young 3-D SF. A guy can dream.

 

Scottie Barnes

 

Or worn down to the point where he’s injured before a trade even happens?

Yeah, THAT’S how we get a better package for Dame lol.

 

Sometimes a joke is just a joke.

 

And sometimes when you're reading bathroom stalls, the joke is in your hands...

 

They are both PGs, so yes

 

Haha sure, just get Masai on tape doing something illegal, then get him blackout drunk and I'm sure he'd trade Barnes for Simons + filler.

 

What if (by deadline) Scoot looks like a bust?

 

What if (by deadline) Scoot looks like a bust?

Scoot's a rookie, got to keep expectations low.
Jayden Ivey is a good example. The Pistons were horrible and Ivey would just run 1 on 4 iso's, toss up ugly shots all night. People would rip on him. But the athleticism is there, Ivey was a rookie, needs time to develop.

 

that may all be true

however, Scoot was heavily hyped to the point that many were saying he'd be a #1 pick in any 'normal' draft that didn't have a generational talent like Wemby. Many called him a franchise level player. And many said drafting Scoot made Dame expendable. Those are lofty evaluations. That doesn't mean he won't struggle as a rookie, but it does ratchet expectations way up. And a mediocre-for-a-rookie type season will be a disappointment after all the hype

 

I agree

CP3
Westbrook
Rose
Steph
Wall
Kyrie
Dame
Luka
Ja
Lamelo

They had hype and they showed. If Scoot is healthy and misses All Rookie 1st/2nd team, I think this changes the gameplan.

This of course is only hypothetical. We all know Scoot will win ROY